&@%# Dog...

I COULD HAVE GIVEN AN AWESOME PRESENTATION AT 2:00 THIS MORNING. It would’ve been truly inspiring, because it would’ve been surging with passion. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t have been that lucid, but it wasn’t because I was drunk or high or headin’ for the promised land. No, I was pissed off. And Dale Carnegie would have approved.

More on that in a moment, but first the story . . .

My dog (40 lbs-and-growing, but still a puppy) woke me at 2:00 AM to go out. After taking care of business, she suddenly premiered a new behavior — she took off running for one of the neighboring houses (no fences here, just a dog run). And none of my usual inducements inspired her to come back.

Damn. 2:00 AM, 15 degrees out, 12 inches of crusty snow, and now I’ve got to go find the dog (and hopefully not wake up any neighbors).

I suited up and tromped outside. I finally tracked her down at a compost heap three houses away. She danced around, trying to avoid me — she really wanted to stay and munch on those rotted tomatoes — and I had to lunge to finally get her. Then, it was 50 yards in chunky snow with 40 squirming pounds in my arms. NOT what I wanted to be doing at 2:00 AM.

Got her back inside and into her crate. Stripped off all the layers and headed upstairs, fuming from a potent cocktail of adrenaline and annoyance.

AND I STOPPED. I suddenly tuned into the energy coursing through my body. My muscles were tight and I was ready for action.

And that’s when I had a new appreciation for Dale Carnegie.

You see, just yesterday, I was looking through a 50-year old copy of Dale Carnegie’s first book: Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business. (Hey, “politically correct” was an oxymoron 50-100 years ago.)

It’s amusing to read, because the language is so archaic, but a lot of the ideas still apply. And in a chapter entitled Keeping the Audience Awake (see, it was a problem then, too), he goes on about how to prepare for a speech. Check out one of his recommendations:

“I have sent students, just before they spoke, into an adjoining room to pummel their bodies until their blood leaped and their faces and eyes glowed with life. I frequently force a student to preface his practice talks in this course, repeating the ABCs with violent gestures and all the vigor and anger that he can possibly command.”

Can’t you just imagine a roomful of speakers flagellating themselves before going out to speak? Yeah, it’s a bit extreme for me, too. But Dale had a point, which was driven home early this morning, courtesy of my dog.

When we are passionate — I mean, really passionate — about something, our whole being develops a focus which can’t be manufactured. Our minds are sharp, our vision is incredibly acute, and — if it’s not 2 AM — our ideas can be incredibly compelling.

I’m not saying you should whip yourself into a frenzy if you want to be an effective speaker. But achieving that kind of singular focus can actually lead to a positive version of the adrenaline cocktail I was feeling this morning.

You can’t achieve that focus, though, if your pitch is all about “Me”. It only works when your ideas hold the promise of greater things for your audience.

In the meantime, if you’d like to remind yourself of how that adrenaline cocktail feels, get yourself a dog (preferably BIG), and carry them around some dark, frozen night. You’ll get that whole-body thing going really quickly. :-)

Comments

[TJ Walker tjwalker.com]

It is interesting to read Dale Carnegie these days to see how many of the issues we face today are identical to the ones 80 years ago. Yes, Carnegie's language may be archaic, but he urges speakers to avoid reading, speak with passion, and avoid covering too many points--all excellent advice. TJ Walker www.speakingchannel.tv